Cock Salmon.

This large Salmon (for the River Ayr) was in full spawning colours and great condition. On examination of scale samples, it turned out to be an escaped farmed salmon that had been living the good life for some time and eventually found its way into the River Ayr.

Unfortunately, although I had my suspicions about its origins, I couldn't bring myself to kill a fish so close to spawning and returned it alive to the river. With hindsight, I should have killed it. Damned if you do and damned if you don't comes to mind.

I still think it was a lovely fish and beautifully marked. This head shot is one of my favourite pictures that I've taken and I've played around with some good results in photoshop. I'll post some someday.